Mahendra J. C. Amarasuriya is a Sri Lankan banker and philanthropist. A former President of the Lions Clubs International, he was the former

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

Commercial Bank of Ceylon Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC (CBC) also known as ComBank is a licensed commercial bank in Sri Lanka and its ownership is private. It was incorporated as a public limited company and it is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. It is regarde ...

Early life

Mahendra Amarasuriya was born to Thomas Amarasuriya,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

the President of the Senate of Ceylon. He was educated at the

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

and graduated from the University of Ceylon with a BSc. He has undergone training at the International Institute for Management Development.

Career

Amarasuriya was first appointed to the Board of the

on May 15, 1986 and appointed Chairman on January 1, 1995 and is serving to date. He holds 447,097 Voting shares and 151,881 Non-Voting Shares. He is also the Chairman of Pelwatte Sugar Industries Ltd., Serendib Flour Mills (Pvt) Ltd., Equity Investments Lanka Ltd., Unawatuna Beach Resorts Ltd. and the Lions Clubs International Foundation. Immediate Past President of the International Association of Lions Clubs and Past Chairman of United Motors Lanka PLC, Joint Business Forum of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Employers’ Organisation and Trade Associations of Sri Lanka (JBIZ), the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon, National Agribusiness Council International Chamber of Commerce, Sri Lanka, Commercial Fund Management (Pvt) Ltd. and Regional Industries Services Committee of the North Western Province. He was the Former Deputy Chairman of

Hayleys Hayleys PLC, founded in 1878, is a multinational and diversified conglomerate company in Sri Lanka with business spanning over 16 sectors, catering to 70 markets worldwide. Hayleys accounts for approximately 4.2% of Sri Lanka's export income, a ...

. Almost four decades after his father chaired the Association, Amarasuriya took the chairmanship and continued in his family's long association with Sri Lanka's thriving tea business. A devout Buddhist and philanthropist, Amarasuriya is a committee member of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Fund. In 2006 he was elected President of the Lions Clubs International.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amarasuriya, M. J. C. Sri Lankan bankers Sinhalese businesspeople Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Living people Year of birth missing (living people)